A new survey asked Americans which decade was the best of their lives, and each age cohort disproportionately said “this one” relative to expectations.
For instance, 22 percent of people in their 60s say it’s their best years right now, as do 30 percent of those in their 70s.
Overall, the most commonly held best decade for each age cohort was the one in which they were currently living.
This is probably a good thing. Lots of people like who they are, where they are, and when they are. The best life is probably one in which every subsequent decade is better than the last.
Right?
Granted, fewer than a quarter of people feel this way, but that is the most common response.
Otherwise, respondents tended to identify their 20s and 30s as their best decades — 22 percent choosing their twenties and 20 percent for their thirties.
Women were more likely than men to report that their best years occur after age 30.
As for the worst decade, the spread was pretty diffuse, but the teenage years came out slightly ahead.
Choosing the best or worst decade seems impossible to me. A fool’s errand. They all seem pretty great.
My teenage years weren’t always easy, but I had two great friends at school — my high school sweetheart, Laura, and my best friend, Danny — and then later, when I went to work at McDonald’s in a neighboring town, a whole new collection of friends – some of whom remain my friends today.
Those friends made my teenage years joyous and special.
I also marched in our high school marching band, playing a variety of percussion instruments on the drum line. Our band marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, the Rose Bowl, and down Main Street USA at Disney. We won two New England championships and six Massachusetts championships.
It was a wonderful time in my life.
I also pole-vaulted on the track team and finished third at the district championship in my junior year. A car accident in my senior year sent me headfirst into a windshield and detrailed my life for a bit, but I lived (thanks to paramedics and CPR), so it was a victory of sorts.
Overall, I enjoyed my teenage years, thanks mostly to my friends and the time I spent involved in school activities and at McDonald’s.
My most challenging decade was probably my twenties. It was the decade that included poverty, homelessness, a violent assault, an arrest, a trial for a crime I did not commit, and more. But I also made it to college at 25, which I never thought would happen. During those five collegiate years, I earned an Associate’s degree at a community college, double-majored at two schools, worked full-time at McDonald’s, and launched my DJ company. I also served on the Student Council, wrote a column for the school newspaper, and was President of the National Honor Society.
It was a glorious moment to finally make it to college, but it was time-consuming beyond imagination and not exactly the idyllic college experience I had once dreamed of. I didn’t live on campus. Didn’t have time to make many friends. Barely kept my head above water.
Still. I loved my twenties. I started the decade living with my best friend in The Heavy Metal Playhouse. We had no money and sometimes had no heat, but we were living on our own and somehow making ends meet. Eventually, things fell apart when he moved to Connecticut, and I was trapped in Massachusetts, awaiting trial. This precipitated two of the worst, most violent years of my life, but I emerged from that time stronger, better, and more clear-eyed about what I wanted from life, which allowed me to pursue my college career with relentlessness.
And I ended my twenties landing a job at Wolcott School, making my dream of teaching finally come true, and giving me a home where I would build a career and ultimately meet my wife and some of the greatest friends of my life.
It was my hardest decade at times for sure, but it was also a wonderful, unbelievable, joyous time when I pulled my life together.
The next three decades have brought Elysha, the kids, my teaching and writing careers, golf, Patriots tailgates and Super Bowls, and so many new friends. I launched my storytelling and comedy career, my consulting and coaching career, and so much more.
I experienced struggle, too. Elysha and I went through years when money was tight, and we worried about making ends meet. I was the victim of an anonymous smear campaign by people trying to destroy my career. The Yankees failed to win a World Series.
Still, those decades were glorious, too.
Each decade seemingly better than the last.
The best and worst years are tricky.
No decade was perfect, but neither was any decade without its moments in the sun.
I guess it’s a good thing not to have an answer when someone asks, “What was the best and worst decade of your life?”
Hopefully, it stays that way.
And I hope it’s that way for you.
